A great forgotten figure returns to Valencia for Christmas. The historic nativity scene of the Bancaja Foundation has reopened its doors in the space of the Bancaja Foundation in Plaza Tetuán for the first time since 2006.
The exhibition, which will remain open at the foundation’s headquarters until January 11, brings together more than 1,000 handcrafted figures after undergoing an exhaustive restoration process.
This montage, considered one of the most important in Spanish Christmas imagery, offers a chronological journey through the life of Jesus, from the Annunciation in Nazareth to the Flight into Egypt.
The work has been recognized for its historical rigor, the result of three years of research based on fifty texts and illustrations by William Hole and William Barclay, which has made it possible to accurately recreate the clothing, architecture and utensils of 2,000 years ago.
The Nativity Scene that returns to Valencia after 19 years
The set was originally created in the early 90’s by the nativity scene masters José Luis Catalá and José Luis Mayo.
For its return this Christmas 2025, the pieces have passed through the hands of a restoration team made up of Mayo’s own workshop, the sculptor Ana Belén Vidal and the Fallas artists María Pilar and María José Luna.
Among the intervened elements there are scenes of great technical complexity such as the palace of Herod, which incorporates oil painted mosaics and traditional stucco, or the recreation of Mediterranean vegetation -olive trees, prickly pears and palm trees- handmade with brass, lead and steel.
The exhibition has recovered scenes of local customs and details of the port of Egypt that had suffered the wear and tear of time after its itinerancy through various Spanish capitals and its last exhibition in Sagunto in 2011.
Schedules and tickets to see this nativity scene in Valencia
The exhibition, which has the collaboration of A&G, has a schedule of opening dates that varies depending on the day:
- From November 29 to December 8: Monday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 20:30 h uninterruptedly.
- From December 9 to 21: Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
- From December 22 to January 11: from Monday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 20:30 h. uninterruptedly.
- December 24: from 10:00 to 14:00 h.
- December 25th: from 16:30 to 20:30 h.
- December 31: from 10:00 to 20:30 h.
- January 1st: from 16:30 to 20:30 h.
- January 6th: from 10:00 to 20:30 h.
Tickets cost 5 euros and can be purchased directly at the box office of the cultural center. Access is free for children up to 4 years and companions of people with disabilities.